


Night and Day

by sceawere



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Even if he is a bit of a grumpy bastard, F/M, Fluff, Halfdan loves his wife, Injury, Injury Recovery, Snark, Swearing, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 22:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14435070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sceawere/pseuds/sceawere
Summary: Halfdan is rushed home after taking the arrow in Paris. His wife awaits.





	Night and Day

The light had fled and the candles flickered down to almost nothing by the time you finally moved. Your arm was asleep, screaming as you slowly rolled it down from where it’d been supporting your head, and moved from the table. Aching legs took slow steps closer to the doorway framed by guards.

The healer gave only a subtle nod as they passed you, his apprentice trailing after with a bundle of blood sodden cloth that turned your stomach. You swallowed it down, turning your head to your maid as she hurried over.

“What did they say?” you had to clear your throat and swallow again as your voice cracked and groaned over the words “tell me what they said”

She lightly took a wrist, thumb rolling over the bruised lines at the back of it, the ink still settling into your skin. It was meant to have healed by the time he got home. How long it had taken to accept this was your home. The thought had creeped in deep enough to your chest, the idea taking root in your very breath, and you’d made a hurried decision to mark the design you now bore into your flesh before it could leave you again. Before you fell adrift once more. It was meant to have healed by the time he got home.

They weren’t meant to be home for the better part of a fortnight, at least, even that with weather permitting. You’d been sleeping. Lying curled in furs and weavings, and dreaming of flying high above the canopy with a flock of birds surrounding you.

All at once they’d turned, and come toward you, curving in like a wave set to drown you. They’d sped past and torn at your wings, feathers fluttering and catching in the wind as they were stripped from you. And finally, you’d tumbled, and squawked, and woke startled in your bed before the floor could meet you. The covers had been torn from you, and instead there was a maid upon you, trembling hands pulling you up.

They weren’t meant to be home for at least a fortnight and at first when she’d explained there were ships at the shore, you’d assumed you were being attacked. It was only as men barged in, carrying a man aloft, with a healer trailing after them that you truly woke and understood what was happening. Not that you did understand yet, not really, because no one had explained it to you yet.

“What did they say?” you repeated, more insistent.

“Not dying on the water is a promising sign. We need to keep watching for signs of infection but the healer- “she paused and stuttered over her words “he…burned out what worried him so- “

You swallowed and shuffled and she knew better than to continue.

“We need more candles” you whispered, eyeing the pillar behind her.

She lifted her head, eyebrows knitting as she looked you over.

“I can’t do anything about...I can’t…” you sighed, not even sure yourself what point you were making. It took a few seconds to settle on something “It’s not my decision now. I’ve said my bit to them, and they’ll do what they’ll do. But until such a time as the gods intend to take him, I still have our house to run as if I intend him to stay, so please could you fetch some more candles?”

She gave a last squeeze of your hand and turned off, stalling at the door when you called after her.

“Thank you”

A slight nod, and she left into the darkness.

-

It felt like intruding somehow, even though it was your bedroom they were occupying. You hovered in the doorway anyway, watching Harald as he knelt by the bed.

He looked exhausted, smiling sadly as he finished a story about when they were children and he had to drag Halfdan home through miles of snow after he’d misjudged a patch of ice and gone flying down the hillside. Or the time he’d decided to climb onto a cluster of rocks for a better shot while hunting, fallen off, and left Harald with no choice but to drag him home.

“I thought we’d agreed we’d stop this, hmm brother?” he gritted his jaw as he dipped his head and you stepped softly into the room, gripping a hand to his shoulder.

“I’d remind you that making agreements with a sleeping man risks you not being listened to, but this is Halfdan we’re talking about, so his waking probably wouldn’t change much” you whispered as you knelt beside him, offering a small smile. He lifted his hand to meet yours, returning the smile.

“Thank you for bringing him home” you breathed, gripping your brother-in-law’s hand tight. He looked exhausted himself, the battle toll clear in his eyes.

“I told him if he died before I got him here, you’d beat me half to death, so he had better live – if only so you could take it out on him instead” he joked and the two of you shared a watery laugh before settling back into the silence. It was stifling in here, the fire roaring, and yet Halfdan still looked pale as you turned your head to him. Harald reached out and touched his forehead for a moment and you dipped your head, feeling like you were intruding again.

“He’s strong” Harald reminded you, and you assumed reminded himself, as he rose and took his leave.

-

You were working up a sweat, pacing in the close air, but if you sat and stared at his sleeping body any longer you were going to lose your mind. And so you paced, up and down, up and down, the floorboards creaking in turn.

“Will you shut up, woman?”

Your head whipped around, even the low croak of his voice startling you in the otherwise silent room.

“Halfdan!” you gasped out, rushing to crawl up the bed beside him. He winced and you shuffled back a touch, your approach having shifted the bed and jostled his shoulder. He swallowed a groan and shuffled, only risking peeking open one eye. He stared you down for only a moment before lolling his head back.

You waited, taking long but stuttering breaths.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” you asked, eyes trailing over the bandages at his shoulder.

“I’m half dead, I’ve earned the right to some peace and quiet”

“Halfdan!” you scolded in shock.

He hummed, and you huffed, sitting down properly on the bed.

“You know I actually- “

“Oh, for- “he whispered under his breath and you shook your head to yourself, narrowing your eyes at the wall across from you.

“I actually worried about you, you know. I let myself get all worked up and I shouldn’t have fucking bothered, should I?” you huffed.

“No, probably not” he replied, eyes still shut.

“No. Instead of praying and pleading they’d keep you here, I should have been begging them to cart you off” you pointed out.

“Probably”

“Then I could have finally got some ‘peace and quiet’. ‘Peace and- ‘, are you fucking kidding me?”

He furrowed his brow and looked up to you again, tired eyes peering out.

“Did you miss me, wife?” he asked and you let out a frustrated groan. You looked down to the covers, picking at a loose thread in one of the woven blankets as you seethed.

“Only at night” you whispered, stubborn, and twirling the thread around your finger.

“Harald said I was hallucinating you on the ship back” he groaned as he shuffled again and you jumped forward, grabbing his arm to still it before he could cause any damage to himself. You shot a look as you fixed a pillow against his side.

“You were?”

“Well, I’d lost a lot of blood” he teased.

“Is that an explanation or an excuse?”

“Depends if you find it endearing or not” he let his head flop to where you were leaning beside him and you kept eye contact, dragging it out to see who would blink first.

“Was I stabbing you?” he smirked at your tone and you couldn’t help the smile that came to you as you watched it drag sleepily over his cheek.

“No”

“Hmm, you should have realised you were hallucinating all by yourself then, shouldn’t you?” you soothed, a finger trailing over the ink at his temple, still too stark against pale skin in a way that half sickened you.

“Did you miss me, wife?” he repeated.

“Only in the days, husband”

He hummed, his lids dropping slightly. You dropped to your elbow, your free hand coming up to trail through his hair.

“Sleep. You need it”

“I’m fine” he replied, with his eyes shut all the while.

“You won’t heal until you stop fighting it”

“I want to lie with you for a while” he explained.

You trailed your hand down the side of his face, thumb trailing the designs slowly as you went.

“I’ll be here when you wake” you assured but he sighed, deep in his stuttering chest.

He reached up slowly with his uninjured arm, taking your hand as he blinked himself awake again.

“Not yet”

You settled down next to him, making sure to avoid his shoulder as he played with your hands together in the air above you.

“What’s this?” he mumbled, turning your wrist over, your fingers entwined as he held it there in sight “You didn’t have that when I left”

“Observant as ever” you snarked and he pushed his thumb into the joint of a finger, turning his head towards you. Even half dead, he had the same look about him and it made you smile lazily back to him “You kept saying I should get something”

“No, I kept saying you should let me _give you_ something” he pointed out, turning his head back to look at the woven band that now decorated your wrist.

“What’s the difference?” you mumbled, shuffling in the pillow as you watched his profile.

“I wanted it to be between us” he breathed.

You caught you lip between your teeth, rolling it there.

“I have plenty of skin left for you, don’t worry”

He chuckled, lowering your hand to lay a kiss over the settling bruises.

“You like it though?” you questioned, suddenly uncertain “You’re not really upset?”

He pushed his thumb into the joint again and rested your entwined hands against his chest, clear of the bandages.

“I don’t want to knock your shoulder” you fussed, shuffling your head back a bit, away from him. He kept as strong a grip on your hand as he could, given his weakened state, and refused to let you move too far away.

You sighed, settling back in place.

“Sleep, I’ll be here when you wake” you reminded him, and gave his hand another squeeze.

“I want to lie with you for a while” he replied again, and you skimmed your eyes on the pale of his profile.

“Then we’ll lie in the quiet” you posed, knowing he’d fall asleep regardless of his pride. He hummed back, fingers toying with yours at his chest still.

“Did you miss me?” you teased, turning his question back at him, and he smiled lazily before he answered.

“Only at night, wife”

“Yeah?”

“Hmm” he rolled his neck and settled further in “and only in the days”


End file.
